1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to enhanced storage systems, and more particularly to storage systems that facilitate efficient storage of, and access to, a variety of items and products. Exemplary systems according to the present disclosure include mechanism(s) that permit reliable and efficient repositioning of one or more shelves, thereby enhancing utilization and efficiencies associated therewith.
2. Background Art
Shelves and shelf systems are widely used for displaying and storing items. Sometimes shelves are contained within cabinets, armoires, closets, etc., while in other applications, e.g., supermarket and book shelves, the shelving units are free-standing and are constructed to facilitate access to items stored thereon. In designing shelving systems, designers must ensure system stability while, to the extent possible, providing efficient access to stored items.
The height to which a stack of shelves can extend is typically limited by the reach of a person of average size. Alternatively, in some cases upper shelves are positioned out of the reach of users and various tools are provided to permit access to the contents of upper shelves. For example, users may be provided with tools that include footstools, stepladders, reach poles, etc. The use of such tools, however, can be inefficient and, in some cases, can contribute to dangerous conditions. For example, people may be injured from falls off of stepladders and/or footstools. Likewise, the use of reach poles can result in inadvertent knocking and/or dislodging of the desired item or an adjacent item from the shelf. In such circumstances, item(s) may be broken or, worse yet, item(s) may fall from the upper shelf, potentially striking and injuring the person using the reach pole or another person in the vicinity thereof. In addition, such tools are typically a nuisance to have about, can lead to injuries merely by tripping a person, and are frequently misplaced or not readily available for use.
In the past, efforts have been directed to providing moveable shelves to address the problems associated with fixedly positioned shelves. Examples of previous efforts directed to developing enhanced shelving systems, which are disclosed in the patent literature include the following U.S. patents.                Ochse, U.S. Pat. No. 1,940,877, discloses extension shelving for display cabinets wherein the shelving may be drawn out of the display cabinet by means of tracks and rollers, and the shelves may be tilted to assume a rearward ascending step-wise arrangement, the lower-most shelf extending forward of the cabinet and the upper shelves.        Snyder, U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,389, discloses a display stand and expandable shelf for use thereon. The Snyder '389 system includes a base and a pair of upright shelf supports. The components of the system are slidably engageable with each other and conventional fastening means are not required for assembly. Additionally, the shelves include a portion (80) that can be extended vertically upward from the remainder of the shelf (70) to form a step, and other portion(s) (90 and 96) can be extended horizontally outward from the shelf to form a wider shelf (again having a step).        Brauning, U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,196, discloses a supporting framework for shelves including crosspieces interconnected with uprights. The cross pieces can ride up and down the uprights and, when positioned in a desired location, can be locked into place by a locking mechanism.        Wyckoff, U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,652, discloses a vertically adjustable work desk that is raised by a force applied by a lockable gas spring via a first pulley system. A second pulley system insures that all areas of the work surface are equally raised.        Duff et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,282, discloses movable gondola shelving for merchandise display having a rolling base that supports channeled uprights and a center panel. Cantilevered shelves are interconnected with the channeled uprights by means of cam assemblies at the rear corners of the shelves. The cam assemblies allow for the shelves to be vertically adjusted while the shelves are maintained in a level position.        Bustos, U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,862, discloses an assembly for a cantilevered display header for a gondola display rack that includes two uprights braced to the gondola display rack in vertical spaced relation. The header, which defines a light box that can receive a sign for illumination thereof, is mounted separately from the shelf and is vertically moveable with respect thereto for adjusting the height of the header with respect to the shelf.        Duane, U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,846, discloses a storage rack that includes vertically and horizontally moveable supports. The storage rack includes plural spaced horizontal supports for vertical motion. Vertical movement of the rack is powered by one or more hydraulic cylinders carried in the vertical support columns, and an associated control mechanism that allows adjustable vertical positioning of the rack. Horizontal supports of a compound nature are disclosed which permit lateral extension to expose material carried on the support element.        Hardy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,887, discloses an extendable shelf assembly that includes extender bars having slots and a cooperating pair of rotatable sprockets that are affixed to an axle. The sprockets include a plurality of teeth that engage the slots of the extender bars.        Anderson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,821, discloses a vertically adjustable shelf and support rail arrangement for use in a cabinet. The shelf arrangement includes a pair of rotatably mounted rear sprocket members and a driving mechanism for rotating the sprockets to vertically adjust the shelf within the cabinet. The driving mechanism can be manually or electrically powered, and the adjustable shelf may include elements that ensure that the sprockets are not disengaged from the rails while the shelf is within the cabinet.        Rindoks et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,913, discloses a support arrangement for a furniture system that includes a support assembly having a pair of standards which extend vertically in spaced relate. Each of the standards includes two rows of openings extending vertically in spaced relation. A first support member may be detachably mounted in a pair of outermost rows of openings, and a second support may be detachably mounted in a pair of innermost rows of openings.        Santiago, U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,610, discloses a cantilever shelf support system wherein the disclosed bracket includes a plurality of forwardly projecting cantilevered male members for insertion into mating female apertures formed in the shelf.        
In addition to the prior art efforts discussed above, the present inventor has previously disclosed advantageous shelving systems. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,588 to Engel discloses advantageous shelving systems wherein shelves are provided in a stack arrangement mounted to two or more uprights. The uprights include one or more shelf support members which support the shelves. One or more of the shelves are movable out from the shelf stack, either by way of a telescoping support member, or otherwise, to permit movement of such shelf or shelves to or past a lower shelf. After an upper shelf or shelves are moved vertically past a lower shelf, the upper shelf or shelves can be moved back into alignment with the lower shelf. In this arrangement, the upper shelf or shelves may be positioned below the lower shelf to permit easy access to the upper shelf or shelves (and their contents).
Despite these prior art efforts, a need remains for enhanced shelving system designs that are stable in construction and that facilitate access to items stored thereon. These and other objectives are satisfied by the enhanced shelving systems disclosed herein, as will be apparent from the detailed description, which follows.